Discussion
As the owner operator of a popular Italian restaurant, controlling costs is an important part of your day-to-day activities. Costs of labor, food, and equipment are your direct responsibility. Profit margins are good, but controlling costs is a constant challenge. At a meeting of the local chapter of the state restaurant association, you see your friend Wayne, who excitedly tells you about a purchase he has just made. Wayne owns and operates an upscale steakhouse in your town. He purchased 50 full-sized stainless-steel line pans for $2 each from a passing “liquidator.” Wayne tells you that he jumped at the chance to buy them because when new, the line pans cost $75 each. When you inquire about the seller, Wayne says that two men simply arrived at his restaurant in a small pick-up truck, with a variety of equipment and small wares in the uncovered back. “Best of all,” Wayne says with a wink, “as soon as I washed them and put them in with my regular stock, there was no way anyone could tell the difference between the ones I just purchased from the ones I already had!” Talk at the restaurant association meeting centers on rising food costs and the likelihood of having to raise menu prices. Several operators state that they are seriously looking at price increases. You, too, have been considering such a move. Wayne tells the group that at his place, “We are going to hold the line on price increases this year.”
1. If you had needed them, would you have purchased the pans?
2. What are the legal issues at play here? What ethical issues are at play (use the 7 factors to assess the ethical situation here)
3. If the “sellers” in this scenario are caught and confess to selling stolen merchandise, do you think that Wayne will get to keep his pans?